The United States does not believe it needs to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal in order to deter the combined forces of Russia, China and other rivals, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday. In a speech, he said he sought to coax Moscow and Beijing into arms control talks.
The United States does not need to increase our nuclear forces to outnumber the combined total of our competitors to successfully deter them, Sullivan told the Arms Control Association, which is the oldest U.S. arms control advocacy group.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February that Moscow was discontinuing participation in the New START, the last remaining pact limiting US and Russian strategic nuclear weapons.
While claiming to suspension of New START, Russia has publicly committed to adhere to the central limits of the treaty, indicating a potential willingness to continue limiting strategic nuclear forces through 2026. We agree, Mr. Sullivan said.
It is in neither of our countries interests to embark on an open-ended competition in strategic forces, he said, and we are prepared to stick to the central limits as long as Russia does. But rather than waiting to resolve all of our bilateral differences, the United States is ready to engage Russia now to manage nuclear risks and develop a post-2026 arms control framework.